Monday, July 20, 2020

Summer Assignment 7.20

This week I have something a bit different for you. Instead of reading a few articles, I have a podcast interview for you to listen to. The podcast is This Week in Virology (TWiV), hosted by Vincent Racaniello, a virology professor and researcher at Columbia University. The interview is with Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). Dr Fauci began his scientific career investigating HIV and continues to be on the forefront of infectious disease outbreaks. The link below has both the audio only version and the video of the interview.

https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-641/

I highly recommend this podcast as a great source of information about SARS-CoV2/COVID-19. They are releasing 2-3 episodes per week right now, going over the latest research and clinical aspects of the current pandemic. As I mentioned in the first post 2 weeks ago, it is very important to find reliable sources among all the misinformation spreading currently.

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like this podcast because I know that the information I am hearing is accurate and that it is reliable because the people telling the information are virology professors and the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Additionally, there are several episodes per week meaning that they post the most recent data on the virus and I like that I can hear the information rather than read it. The video was made on July 16, 2020 which means this is one of the most up to date sources to look at. This video was eye opening because we are told to say six feet apart so droplets do not touch us, but aerosols can sometimes spread further than that as mentioned when it spread from one hotel in Hong Kong to another. He talks about someone coughing into their hand and then touching a door and someone coming fifteen minutes later and touching it and says that there is a good chance that it will be transferred. This is important because it emphasizes that we should wear masks and should social distance to prevent the spread which a lot of younger groups of kids struggle to do. They talk about a study called the Hero Study that they have started on May 1st which will help them figure out if schools can open and if the virus transfers from kid to kid. 6,000 kids in 2,000 families will be a part of it and they will look at the rate of infection, transmissibility to family members and if they get sick and what the antibody response is. This is better because now we will have a better answer as to if we can go back to school rather than guessing. They emphasize the point that schools have heard kids don’t get sick and that’s why they want to open up schools, but they note that that is false and I believe a lot of schools should be aware of it. They also discuss how to have a healthy school environment which I find important because if I am going back to school, I need it to be safe. He says we need to have multiple steps and that we should go back to school but it depends where we are. He says it is different geographically and demographically, so schools can't just open because another one is. Schools need to get rid of the risk so they can alternate days, wear masks, morning afternoons and protect vulnerables. Personally, I think it is not safe now because the cases are rising again and I have done fine with online school so I would not mind staying home. I definitely think we should use testing before kids go to class because we know if people are negative and positive and it would be a lot more safe.

Anonymous said...

The podcast, “TWiV 641: Covid-19 with Dr.Anthony Fauci,” discusses the coronavirus in regards to transmission, testing, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines, and preparedness. He believes the predominant spread of the virus is through droplets, which expresses the need to always wear a mask in public. The discussion about the reopening of schools is still being decided upon because data has shown that kids do not get infected easily as much as adults do. A study will be done determining the infection rate that will arise after some kids go back to school and see if those kids will bring back the virus to their family. However, there is a dreaded need to bring back students to schools because of the unintended consequences that may arise if schools do not reopen soon. The infection rates in certain areas that are minimal may allow schools to open with many safety precautions while some other states have rates at an extreme high that enables students to go to schools. While listening to this podcast, it is clear that there are so many unanswered and unsure questions in regards to this virus. Testings will be more frequent if schools were to reopen and the execution of saliva testing would be beneficial. The immunity of coronavirus is unknown for COVID-19 and the possibility of getting re-infected and the consequence of getting it the second time is also unknown for data will need to be seen for a longer period of time. Many of the vaccines focus on the spike protein and the question of ignoring all the other antibody protections may be concerning but Dr.Fauci tries to reassure this is not necessarily a bad option but then again researchers do not necessarily know what organs this virus really targets. Dr.Fauci constantly reiterates that everything he is saying is an assumption based on research and data he currently is able to get a hold on, but research is still continuing and changing.

Anonymous said...

I watched the podcast, “This Week In Virology” (TWiV) by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit, along with Dr Anthony Fauci, who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease(NIAID). The podcast discussed SARS-COV-2 testing, ways of transmission, and possible vaccines. In addition, the podcast also discussed how COVID could be transferred by droplets, aerosol, and contact. Furthermore, there is an assumption by several people that droplets is the main cause of infections, however, recently, the degree and effect that aerosol has is also going into consideration. For example, there was a hotel in HongKong, with SARS, in which infections went across the courtyard, to the other hotel, possibly traveling by droplets and/or aerosol. Additionally, there was also a study done from the Labs, which showed that infections could stay from 48 to 72 hours on surfaces, however, that was merely an approximate estimate. Just recently, a study was started on May 1, called the “Hero Study”. It is going to include 6,000 kids and 2,000 families, and they will be looking at the rate of infection, transmissibility to family members, including parents, as well as whether or not they get sick, and what their antibody response is. The answers to these questions should come out soon, as opposed to guessing. In addition, the podcast discussed about wether or not kids should go back to school. Children do not get as sick as adults, and Anthony Fauci says that we should try to get kids back to school, and this is because the long term effect of kids not going to school for a longer period of time could have a huge effect on the kids themselves, parents, and the society. On the other hand, it varies where you are, depending on the rates of infections at your location. In conclusion, this podcast was extremely informative, and it discussed several topics, including COVID, and pathogenesis, immunity, and potential vaccines for the current virus.

Anonymous said...

The podcast posted this week focused on Sars-CoV2/COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci as a guest. It started off by discussing transmission and testing methods. Dr. Fauci mentioned that the virus could stay alive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, but that in his personal opinion, droplets were the predominant cause of the spread of the virus. He was also asked about why some people infected with the virus do not express symptoms. He started his answer with a disclaimer that he really was not sure yet due to lack of studies, but he did confirm that asymptomatic patients could actively spread the virus. This point led to the conversation about opening schools, and how the virus impacts children specifically. He referenced a study that was started on May 1st called HEROS, which focuses on the infection and transmission rates in children. He believes that the continuation of this study will lead to definite data which can be referenced when determining whether schools should be reopened or not. If schools are to be reopened, necessary safety precautions will be heavily based upon geographics. Some things he proposed for all schools included masks and alternating days students attended school. He also stressed the importance of sensitivity in regards to the students, parents, and teachers opinions and safety. Ideas further discussed included students being tested everyday. Dr. Fauci stated that the specifics around how everyday and immediate testing will work are not yet decided, that repetitive testing of students might be an option for the coming year. Following the discussion on schools reopening, the podcast moved on to how the virus could affect other body systems of the body, besides just the respiratory system. In order to answer that question, Dr. Fauci said that there will be a strong focus on the autopsy reports of deceased patients. The terrifying thought that this strain of coronavirus could lead to devastating effects for multiple body systems only reinforces the need for a vaccine. Before discussing possible vaccine options, the idea of herd immunity was discussed. Dr. Fauci concluded that herd immunity would only be achievable if the large majority of people get sick, which is why a vaccine would be the best option. Many trials are currently in place investing all the possible vaccine options. Many of these trials are beginning to show promising results, but unfortunately, like most variables connected to this virus, the limited time frame has prevented any definite conclusions so far. The podcast was concluded by mentioning some questions that are still unanswered, such as whether people can be reinfected. Due to the major repercussions of this virus on our economy and healthcare systems, Dr. Fauci said that he believes that Congress will be more willing to spend money on programs that were founded to prepare for future viruses. I agree that these programs need more funding in order to ensure that the US is fully equipped to handle future outbreaks. If any good can come out of this pandemic, hopefully it’s that our government will be better prepared for future viral outbreaks.

Anonymous said...

The virus is most commonly transferred by the air. You will most likely be safe if you stay at least six feet away from other people. It is also spread by contact which could last for at least 15 minutes. Children don’t get nearly as sick as adults, elderly people are more likely to get infected because their bodies are weaker. However, there is still a possibility that children could get the virus and people don’t know if the children can pass the virus to others which is a major concern for schools. It will be difficult to send the children to school and people are scared. In my opinion I don’t think we should go back to school because we are surrounded by others who could possibly have it. I think it would be best to do online schooling, less people would be at risk. The scientists are still confused and don’t know much on how to proceed with this. But I respect them for trying and I hope that they could find a way to protect people from the virus.

Anonymous said...

This week I watched the podcast “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci”. I really enjoyed this podcast, more specifically the questions asked because they’re questions that are on everyone's minds. I liked that Dr Fauchi discussed the different methods of transmission, because I honestly hadn’t heard of droplet transmission vs surface transmission(and how droplet transmission is the more common one that is spread By things like coughing and sneezing) . I also like how he discussed the difference between Operation Wardspeed and Active, and how their approaches to finding a vaccine are different but have shared similarities. I also enjoyed how he took previous historical events, like the Hong Kong Hotel Incident and the Teddy Roosevelt Nuclear Aircraft incident, and related it to the pandemic, because after the podcast was done, I looked into those two events. My favorite question was the one regarding children going back to school, because it was one I have to worry about in the upcoming weeks. I liked how Dr Fauchi mentioned that although kids aren’t as likely to catch the virus and become severely ill, the teachers, janitors, and custodians are. So everyone needs to be mindful of that. I thought the $1 saliva test was pretty smart, and it should be a requirement for every K-12 student to take it frequently so that COVID could be contained in a school like environment. But, most importantly, I liked that Dr Fauchi wasn’t afraid to say “I don’t know, but we’re figuring it out” to some questions. I feel like a lot of people in the medical field let their ego get the best of them, and sometimes they’re afraid to admit that they’re not sure. I admire Dr Fauchi and his team because they’re trying to use a vaccine therapeutic diagnosis that has never been done before. So although we’ve been in the midst of this crisis for 6+ months, we have to remember that techniques like this have never been done before, and ultimately, we have to be a lot more prepared for the next pandemic.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the podcast, “This Week in Virology: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci.” The podcast starts by discussing the transmission for COVID-19. Dr. Fauci believes that there is no clear way to tell how it is spreading, but he believes that it is spread mostly by aerosol and droplets, as well as slightly by touching infected surfaces. He believes that the main source of transmission is by droplets, which is why masks are important. He believes that the PCR test can be helpful in determining who has the infection. Unfortunately, he believes that asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission does account for a good percentage of the spread. Dr. Fauci also mentions that scientists are doing tests on children to see if they get infected and if they spread the virus. This study can be effective in telling schools whether it is safe to open. He also stresses that opening schools means that different measures may have to be taken (wearing masks, alternate day classes, etc.). I also found it interesting that the mortality rate of the illness also depends on asymptomatic infection, but his prediction was only 1%. The podcast also discussed whether immunity was probable from infection. Dr. Fauci believes this is an ineffective solution, and that developing a vaccine is important. However, he does believe that temporary immunity from infection is likely, but this does not prevent eventual reinfection. Dr. Fauci is also hopeful that the vaccine will be effective, although it may require yearly boosters. Finally, they end the podcast with preparedness and the response to the virus, specifically in the distribution and manufacturing of vaccines. This information is important because it directly relates to the future of our lives, specifically in relation to the course of the virus, vaccines, and hopefully the opening of schools.

Anonymous said...

The podcast “This Week in Virology:Episode 641” featured Dr.Anthony Fauci as a guest to discuss about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. The podcast begins by talking about transmission of these viruses and testing. When asked about transmission, Fauci stated that viruses can stay alive on surfaces for as long as 72 hours, but he believes the predominant reason for the transmission of viruses are because of droplets. This then leads to them talking about people that have the virus but do not show any symptoms. When asked, he said that there wasn’t really a right or wrong answer to any of the questions because there wasn’t enough studies to prove any correct information. However, he does state that asymptomatic patients can spread the virus actively. They then talk about opening schools and the impact on children due to this virus. Fauci talked about the study known as the “Hero Study”, which was focused on the infection and transmission rates within children. He states that this study will help a lot with making the decision of reopening schools. Fauci states that either way, necessary safety precautions must be taken in order to reopen schools, especially masks. He states that kids should go back to school due to negative impacts that not going to school for a long time could have. He talks about testing for students and how everyday and immediate testing could work, and how repetitive testing on students within the year is a good option for testing. The discussion then changes to the topic of the effect of this virus throughout your body. They then talk about vaccine options and how many trials are in place to test the vaccines being made, but due to the time frame, there aren't any strong conclusions as of right now. The podcast ends off by taking notice of questions not yet answered, like if people can be infected after being affected once. This podcast was really interesting to hear because it provided a lot of information and explained everything thoroughly. If anyone was interested to educate themselves more on this topic, this is a great podcast to listen to.

Siddhi Patil said...

This podcast is wonderful because it is educational and reliable. In this podcast, they call credible scientists and researchers, to ask questions that the audience has. In episode 641, “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci” addresses transmission, diagnosis, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines, and preparations for SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Anthony Fauci is a physician and immunologist, who is the director of the National Allergy and Infectious Disease Institute (NIAID). Two significant variables can impact an epidemic: how many people become contaminated, as well as how many people die. The known ways of transmission for the virus are droplets, aerosol, and contact. Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned that there is no way of telling how the disease spreads unless there is a specific event. Water and aerosol droplets are one of the most common ways SARS-CoV-2 has spread, however since the aerosol droplet is unlikely to touch you if you are 6 feet away, it is recommended that you should keep 6 feet apart from people to prevent spreading or getting the disease. One question that came up in the discussion was how Dr. Fauci feels about schools opening in the fall. He completely supports them opening and adds that though school openings regulations are yet to be established, the opening of schools will rely on where you are, the circumstances present, as well as the hurdles to save the healthy and people with weak immune system. He remarks that researchers don’t know how Covid-19 impacts children. Children aren’t getting affected as much, although they do get affected. There is an existing study call hero studies. In this study they are trying to figure out; the rate of infection, the transmissibility to house members, whether they get sick, and antibody response. On another note, the median fatality rate is around 1 percent, according to Dr. Fauci. Which is based on asymptomatic infections. The U.S. is far from herd immunity. Those who are not eligible for these vaccines — such as infants, pregnant women, or citizens with weak immune systems — get some protection because infectious disease spreads. This is known as herd immunity. On the occasion that a viable vaccination is available, and a vital component of a community is vaccinated against Covid-19, most community members will be protected against this epidemic, and there is a very small chance of an outbreak. In the event that the society was to try to create herd immunity without a vaccine, a lot of citizens would be at great risk, as well as many citizens would get sick. What the world needs at this point in time is an instrument that has the ability to prevent a sick patient coming to the hospital, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Anonymous said...

First off, "TWiV by Vincent Racaniello" seems like a really good idea for an open discussion about scientific questions, particularly related to viruses (the ones that make us sick!). I like how Dr. Anthony Fauci was brought in to talk to questions about SARS-CoV-2, as he is the leading expert on infectious diseases. While some key leadership figures in our government do not appreciate the work put in by scientists, the public deserves the truth from the researchers, not politicians.

Around Time Stamp 1:38, Vincent mentions the 3 ways by which the virus spreads. Fauci, however, immediately states that "there is no firm data... there is an assumption [that this is how it spreads] that it's mostly droplets..." This just goes to show the lack of understanding we have. I'm not trying to say it's Fauci's fault; just that the virus is so new that we have a very vague understanding that applies to all viruses.

Studies in labs show that the virus can "live" on certain surfaces from 48-72 hours. This, however, is merely an estimate. "Hero Study", a trial started on May 1st, included 6,000 kids and 2,000 families, where the scientists would monitor the rate of infection, transmissibility, and antibody responses.

An interesting section of the podcast was school related. I agree with Dr. Fauci when he says that children do not get as sick as adults (just to clarify, people who have underlying conditions are more susceptible to the virus), and the long term affect of not going to school can affect social relationships for years to come.

In summation, I believe this week's AP biology summer assignment was extremely valuable as opposed to reading articles. While articles do provide information in an organized way, its nice to hear that information coming in words from other people. I also like that we are not just focusing on COVID-19 (even though that is the main focus), as demonstrated by last week's assignment.

Anonymous said...

Today I watched the podcast “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci” by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit. The podcast discussed some of the pressing questions that Americans are asking about the coronavirus. During the video, Dr. Fauci talked about issues such the reopening of schools, herd immunity, testing, and vaccines. I was surprised to learn that Fauci wants some schools to reopen in person. Although he believes there is a risk in doing so, he thinks that there could be detrimental consequences if they are not reopened in the fall. He goes on to explain that schools need to look at the amount of coronavirus cases in their area to accurately decide wether they should continue with online or in person learning. Fauci says there are multiple ways to protect students in the school environment by taking precautionary measures such as wearing masks and social distancing. Later in the podcast, Fauci discussed herd immunity. While many people may think that this would be a great feat, Fauci explains that many people would become very sick in order for this to be achieved in the United States. Fauci also explains some potential vaccines that are in works such as the one created by Moderna. He has high hopes for this vaccine and he hopes that it will be able to prevent the spread of coronavirus all over the world. Overall, I found the podcast about coronavirus to be both interesting and informative.

Rohan Singh said...

This podcast with Dr. Fauci the nation's expert in allergy and infectious diseases. He addressed the modes of transmission of the virus, he went into detail about the droplets passed from an infected person to another person, the example he used which was the droplets going on the hands and transfers to a doorknob. In this specific scenario transmission from the doorknob to another person will most likely occur. Here is where masks come into play, masks don't let the droplets leave, for the most part, thus meaning the transmission rate is significantly lowered. They then went to discuss kids and transmissibility. Dr. Fauci mentioned a test being conducted with almost 6000 students in order to learn more about transmission through schools. He also went onto say that students need to be in school in order to prevent loss of education which may have "ripple effects" in the future. However, it was said that the opening of schools should be determined on how many cases are being reported in the counties if counties are showing high levels of community transmission they should not open or find a solution to lower risk. Another big tool that they want to focus on are creating a device that conducts saliva tests. These saliva test would quickly give results and hopefully help open up the country. One interesting thing I noticed was the death rate, he said it would be around a one percent fatality rate. The asymptomatic make this though to calculate. Re-infection was a major confusion in this topic, we were concerned about the immunity to the virus. He went to mention that there have not been enough studies or research to make a definitive statement about this topic. Vaccine boosters shots may be an option since the immunity may wane, the study they are working on is to get a vaccine that can get a recipient through a season without catching the infection. Another eye-opening fact we haven't seen is the hours of hard work Dr. Fauci and many health experts around the world have been putting in to help bring the world back to normal. He discussed how his team worked to make a vaccine and start clinical trials with Moderna. Near the end, Dr. Fauci mentioned the profit risk many companies have been doing. They have been manufacturing a lot of the vaccines during the testing so if their vaccine works they will have enough to supply in a few months, on the other hand, if it doesn't work they lose a lot of money. Lastly, he told us that congress will be investing more in pathogen research and microbe research. Overall this was a very informative podcast that updated me on the functioning of the research and the hard work companies are putting in to save lives worldwide in these tough times.

Anonymous said...

The interview “COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci”, hosted by TwiV, discusses the information and evidence pertaining to the coronavirus. Fauci starts off by explaining how the disease can be transmitted through a number of people. Fauci states that maintaining a six-feet distance makes it unlikely for droplets to reach you, but aerosol can still be present in the surrounding air and on surfaces. Because the disease is predominantly carried through respiratory droplets, masks are of utmost importance. Fauci also states that in order for a population to get sick, there would have to be a large number of symptomatic people. However, he states that the fatality rate with the disease is extremely dependent on the number of asymptomatic people as well. Further research is still required in order to come to a definite conclusion regarding the correlation between transmission rates and asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections. In addition, he says that there is not enough evidence for children transmitting and acquiring the disease differently than adults. Fauci believes that it is important for children to return to school, and that certain risks will have to be taken for this to occur. In order to continue education for children while still implementing precautions and preventive measures, he suggests having alternate day classes and requiring the children to wear masks. A saliva-based antigen test for all children should be necessary as well in order to test for the coronavirus, and this would serve as a helpful public health tool. With uncertainty surrounding whether the virus is confined to damaging the respiratory system only, scientists are further looking into the effects the disease can have on other organs. Fauci says the best way to do this is to gather data on autopsy reports, as they could show if the virus is present in other areas of the body. With immunity, Fauci believes that there is a possibility of someone getting reinfected with the disease if it decreases after a period of time. Because of this, developing effective vaccines and distributing them to the public is the best course of action to take. Although it is apparent that several details about the coronavirus are still undiscovered due to the lack of data, scientists are still working efficiently to uncover new evidence to develop vaccines and prevent the disease from further spreading.

Anonymous said...

The podcast discusses about the immunity, and vaccinations regarding COVID-19. Dr. Fauci talks about how the virus can get transmitted. He says that it mostly gets transmitted from air droplets, but the virus can also stay on surfaces for up to 72 hours. He also discussed the topic about herd immunity. Fauci says that herd immunity is not a likely option for the USA, considering how big it is, and the massive numbers of sicknesses and deaths that would occur because of the exposure of the virus to gain herd immunity. Later on, Fauci talks about COVID-19 in relation to schools reopening. Fauci said that there were chances of teachers also protesting against schools reopening as well as kids which could cause some complications, but that it would also be necessary to eventually make students physically go to school. Overall, Fauci mentioned that there were many aspects that he was unsure of regarding the coronavirus, such as transmissions between children, as well as transmissions in general. The podcast then concluded with the discussion about vaccinations. Fauci stressed that the vaccination needed to come as quickly as possible, and the vaccines had to be in such a way that they would be fast-acting enough for people to not be admitted to hospitals. This podcast was very informative, and helped answer many questions and clear many doubts regarding COVID-19.

Anonymous said...

I loved listening to this podcast about the SARS COVID-19 pandemic and what health experts are doing about the pandemic. The podcast talks about what to do if another wave of the SARS COVID-19 pandemic managed to happen in the fall of 2020,Vaccines,Pathogens and Outcomes of the Vaccine. During the podcast session with Dr Fauci, Dr Fauci talks about the reopening of schools in the fall of 2020.Dr Fauci also said that "If school were to reopen in the fall of 2020,most teachers might not come to school because if the teachers get in contact with another student they can also be overcome with the Coronavirus.
The podcast then concluded with the discussion of vaccinations for SARS COVID-19.During the discussion of Vaccines,Dr Fauci said he was stressed about the vaccine because the vaccination needed to come as quickly as possible, and that the vaccines had to be in such a way that it would be fast-acting enough for millions of people to not be admitted to a hospital to get the vaccination.This podcast was very informative and it helped with my questions regarding the SARS COVID-19 Pandemic.

Ashna Bhoj said...

This week, I viewed the podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci”, hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit. In the podcast, the hosts ask Dr. Anthony Fauci several scientific questions about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, including information about transmission, testing, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines, and preparedness. I can tell that this podcast is giving reliable information because there is a professional talking about this topic, specifically the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Also, I know the information is up to date, as it was recorded less than a week ago on July 16, 2020. Dr. Fauci discusses how the majority of the transmission is due to aerosols, and if you stay six feet away, then the droplets will most likely not be effective. I know that this information was also given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), implying we are getting very reliable data. They also focus on the topic of schools reopening and how children transmit the virus. Experts aren’t completely certain about that topic, but they know that children do not get the virus and get sick as much as adults do. Scientists at NIAID started a study on May 1, called the HERO study, where they use 6000 children and 2000 families to inspect the rate of infection, the transmissibility to family members, and if they get sick and what their antibodies respond to. When talking about his stand on reopening schools in the fall, Dr. Fauci thinks they should reopen, although it depends greatly on where kids live around the world and how many cases there are in that location. The options are either to not send kids back or reopen schools, with the use of wearing masks, alternate learning days, and morning or afternoon classes. This is relatable because it is like the situation we have in Monroe, where the Board of Education has to decide how to have school in the fall. He also states that if schools reopen, people have to take into consideration the teachers’ opinions (some may be concerned about their wellness and not agree to go back). Dr. Fauci expresses the fact that as a nation, the United States is very far from immunity, from the evidence of how much we suffered so far from COVID-19. Also, if people tried to achieve herd immunity without a vaccine, many people would, unfortunately, get sick, which is why they hope for a vaccine as soon as possible. Vincent Racaniello stated that most of the upcoming coronavirus vaccines focus on the spike protein, which I learned is a key protein used to target the virus. I found this podcast very interesting and informative, and I definitely learned many new things about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Anonymous said...

In the podcast, “TWiV 641: Covid-19 with Dr.Anthony Fauci,” they discussed about the coronavirus. The questions were divided into sections. The first section they talked about is transmissions and testing. Dr. Anthony Fauci explains hows there is no firm data that states it is mostly droplets. Dr.Anthnoy Fauci believes that it is mostly the standard droplets that spread. Staying 6 feet apart prevents the droplets from reaching a person. However, we can never roll out the possibility that there is a degree of aerosol that can spread. The coronavirus can stay on surfaces like steel and plastic. A study done by Vincent Munster from the Rocky Mountains Labs showed that the virus can stay on virus for about 48-72 hours. The masks are very effective because they prevent the droplets. Moreover, some people believe that children acquire or transmit the virus different than adults. Dr. Anthony believes that there is no conclusive evidence to prove that children acquire or transmit the virus differently. Since they don’t evidence and date, there was a study started on May 1st. It is called the Hero Studies Human Epidemiology where they will observe the rate of infection, transmissibility to parents and family members, and whether or no they get sick, and what their antibody response is. This study will be done to 6,000 kids in 2,000 families. The media believes that the kids don’t get sick as much, so this leads the school system to say that putting kids back at school won’t be a problem. This statement is not a logical conclusion. Opening schools should be based on the location. Some areas have high percent of infection, while others don’t. The school systems have to be attentive and sensitive to the safety and the welfare of the students. Also, they need to be attentive and sensitive to the safety and the welfare of the teachers. The reason is that the teachers might refuse to go back to schools. It is also important that some kind of testing need to be done in school.

Anonymous said...

The TWiV podcast provided a great deal of relatively accurate information on the coronavirus. All of the questions that were proposed by the hosts were important to know to be safe during this time. Dr. Fauci explained that this infectious virus can be transmitted through droplets, contact, and aerosols Droplets, most common, are generally carried through the air by a sneeze or a cough. Wearing a mask and maintaining a safe distance from others can reduce the risk. Coronavirus can survive on surface for 48 to 72 hours, however researchers haven’t been able to determine whether they grow on these surfaces. Dr. Fauci also addressed the risks of opening schools; he said that the conditions that need to be followed by students and teachers vary based on the state or the county. Even though children don’t get as sick as adults, they can still pass it on to teachers or family members. The fatality rate can be estimated around 1%, however it is difficult to be exact due to the large number of asymptomatic people. Experts say that the vaccine can neutralize responses as well as provide 100% immunity. However, the amount of time the immunity will last is still unclear and individuals can be reinfected. As of now, doctors at hospitals are using two different therapies that help patients recover faster. Scientists are trying to find a solution to prevent people from going to the hospitals—to stop it at an early stage. Dr.Fauci claims that researchers are working at remarkable speed. Only 6 months into a pandemic, scientists know the conditions they are working with and they have gotten closer to finding a vaccine. There is a possibility that the vaccine will be ready to distribute to thousands of people by the first quarter of 2021. The government is also working to be prepared for any future events similar to this by studying other pathogens. This provides a sense hope for the people who have been quarantining from the very beginning. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, where life may find the normalcy it has been missing for the past couple of months.

Anonymous said...

I watched the podcast “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci” by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit. During this podcast, they discuss how Corona is being spread. They discuss how now in America, we are looking more into droplets mostly from saliva when speaking. If we can find the main causes of how COVID-19 is being spread we can try and stop it more effectively. They bring up the possibility of children going back to school in September. Dr.Fauci explains where you are in America can change how we will need to plan for the future school year. They bring up that in the future if they could test every student it would put protesting teachers and students at ease. The idea of vaccines and immunity in the future was in question. Trying to get immunity without vaccines would be devastating because multiple people would have to die for Only less than 75% to be immune. In the past, common cold coronavirus immunity didn’t last very long. The question we’re asking with the coronavirus is how long will people who get infected have immunity. After one or two years, we might be able to see the effect of immunity and if someone gets reinfected how it will affect them. Vaccines are starting to go into clinical trials with the goal to stop people from going to the hospital. The government has invested money into companies to try and make new vaccines. Dr.Fauci believes that more money from the government will be put into medicine and studies like this due to corona. I enjoyed this podcast a lot and feel that it helped me get a better grasp of how the future might look.

Isabel Umali said...

I thought Professor Racaniello’s TWiV podcast with Dr. Fauci was quite interesting to listen to. It was very informative especially because many of the questions that were asked and discussed are common questions that people like myself think about. To start off, Professor Racaniello brings up the topic of the transmissibility of COVID-19. Dr. Fauci guesses that among the three methods of transmission, being droplets, aerosol, and contact, the virus spreads mainly through droplets. This being said, they emphasize the effectiveness of wearing masks as it can mitigate the risk of being infected. I think this is a key point since some people still don’t understand the importance of masks. The next topic that was discussed pertains to children and the coronavirus. They took notice of the fact that children don’t get sick nearly as much as adults do, and they questioned if young people transmit the virus differently. Dr. Fauci replies by saying that there is no conclusive evidence to prove these theories. However, he did mention a study that started in May called the HEROS study where 6000 children are observed for the rate of infection, their antibody response, and transmissibility to family members. These studies will hopefully determine the rate of the coronavirus in children and their family members. They then transition into the reopening of schools which proves to be a challenging decision among kids, parents, and teachers. While Dr. Fauci supports the idea of getting kids back to school, he says that the ability to do this varies greatly on the location and current circumstances of that area. He also brings up a very good point when he says that even if schools do reopen, they have to keep in mind the safety of the students and teachers since not everyone will want to return. I thought this discussion was very applicable to our circumstances since that decision will have a major impact on us in the near future. Another question that I found particularly thought-provoking was asked by Professor Condit. He asked Dr. Fauci if COVID-19 is considered a respiratory virus or if it has the ability to affect other areas such as kidneys or even the brain. Dr. Fauci didn’t have a definitive answer, but he did say that studying autopsies would be very useful in answering this question because it would be easily identified if other organs were affected. They are currently awaiting these studies. Lastly, I want to point out something that Dr. Fauci said towards the end of the podcast session. He stated that companies are saying they will have enough vaccines by the first quarter of 2021 to be able to start distributing millions of doses. This is a very surprising statement considering the fact that we haven’t been living amidst the pandemic for a whole year, and they already have plans of deploying vaccines to people. Hearing this gave me some hope for the future especially because it was said by the director of NIAID himself. Although there are still many questions about COVID-19 that remain unanswered, podcasts like TWiV provide people with accurate information they can rely on.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed listening to this podcast with Dr.Fauci. It is important to get information from a credited source so there would not be any misconceptions or inaccurate data. Through this podcast, listeners got information from virology experts, as they got to learn about how some viruses can be deadly diseases. from this podcast, I learned many things. One thing I learned was about how Sars-CoV is quite similar to COVID-19. This information is helpful because scientists can see the patterns through different viruses over the years. Also, many questions were answered that ordinary people had. At this time and age, it is hard to know which website is a credible source. One question that was asked was about school reopening. Dr.Fauci explains that it all depends on the state you are living in. Some people are living in states with barely any cases, while some are living in states that have surges of cases every day. Even if students and their parents are okay with going to school, many teachers are not okay with it. It is important to include teachers in this, as they also have a possibility of getting COVID-19. It has been suggested that every student and teacher/staff attending school should be tested for COVID-19. I agree with this. Even now, not a lot of kids have been tested for COVID-19. On top of that, a person can be asymptomatic. As Dr.Fauci has stated, there might be morning/afternoon class schedules or even alternate days. It is important to keep up with the debate on reopening schools as we are tremendously affected by it. Another thing I learned is the importance of social distancing. Before, I knew that social distancing was necessary, but I didn't know the science behind it. According to Dr.Fauci, droplets of an aerosol is less likely to reach you if you are six feet apart. With masks, it will help stop the spread of the virus as the virus has been confirmed as airborne. This is why I enjoyed the podcast as I learned valuable information from it.

Anonymous said...

In this podcast, the hosts, along with Dr. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, discuss the different aspects of COVID- 19. Primarily Dr. Fauci, describes the means of transmission as being categorized into different ways, though it is hard to distinguish how it is transmitted in each case. There are still quite a few indefinite answers with regards to this virus, especially because of the amount of time it has been prominent. For instance, there are questions circulating childrens’ transmission of the virus, which Dr. Fauci admits to having no data for. Children don't get sick nearly as much as adults do, however there is still uncertainty about whether they get infected the same. One of the hosts mentioned how completely illogical it is for people in the media to presume that because children are not getting sick as much, there is no imminent problem to reopening schools. Just because the effect is not prominent does not mean it is rational to expose the students and teachers to the possibility of contracting the virus anyway. It is evident that remote learning has taken a toll on the students and their parents, academically and mentally, which has become a plausible argument for allowing schools to open. The fact that it is increasingly difficult for students to get the proper education at home is cause enough for schools to return in the fall, as many believe. The main concern for return however, is for the welfare of the students and staff. Those pondering on this subject must be sensitive to those being affected by the decision.The state of the area of each school greatly plays a factor in the decision to reopen the schools, as well as whether the city or county has taken enough precautions to contain the virus and flatten the curve.
Besides the fate of schools in the fall, in this podcast, they also discuss herd immunity. Dr. Fauci mentioned that he does not want to rely on people gaining immunity by first contracting the virus. It is best if this is achieved through vaccinations, which needs to be dispersed as soon as possible. Though immunization is possible through the contraction and recovery of the virus, it is more practical to deploy a vaccine. They also brought up a point of interest following the discussion of herd immunity, about immunity waning, and the occurrence of reinfection and the consequences of it. It is probable that immunity will not last that long, allowing for reinfection to occur. There is still question of whether having this suboptimal immunity in the case of reinfection, enhances or diminishes the effect of the symptoms. Though it seems as if the outbreak has lasted years, the reality that it has only been a few months. Understandably, there is not an abundance of research to cover every single question about this novel coronavirus. Doctors and researchers should not be taking the hit when people want answers; they have had limited time to study with limited resources. There is quite an array of question and concern with this pandemic, however, it remains that researchers and doctors are doing their best to find concrete answers.

Anonymous said...

The episode “Covid-19 with Dr. Fauci” on the TWiV podcast, hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit with guest Dr. Anthony Fauci, was very informative as it discussed the issues most relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. To begin, they discuss the types of transmissions and symptoms regarding the virus. Debating on droplet, surface, and aerosol transmission, Dr.Fauci focuses on droplet transmission as he believes it to be the most common of the three. Then they concur on the subject of symptoms and their varying appearances with the transmission of the disease. Since there are three variants of symptoms present in the infected population, asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, symptomatic, Dr.Fauci explains how it can sometimes be difficult to collect information on the effectiveness and fatality rate of the virus. Subsequently, they discuss the applicable topic of reopening schools. Fauci showcases his opinion by saying that it is vital that students return to school in the fall as their absence has caused a vast amount of unintended consequences among the majority of the population. Thereafter, they delve into the subject of possible testing methods such as a saliva-based antigen test. Here, Dr. Fauci expresses his thoughts by stating that these tests are necessary to mitigate the effect the virus has on the public and to increase the convenience and availability of virus testing as a whole. Rich Condit then goes into the topic of immunity and its various aspects, including waning immunity and the possibility of reinfection. Throughout this segment, Dr. Fauci explains that it is difficult to be sure of some information regarding the virus, as we are only 6 months into dealing with it, while concurrently expressing the need for vaccines to be created. They further discuss vaccines by providing the example of the upcoming Moderna vaccine, introduced in the English Journal of Medicine, providing some positive test results. They also debate the use of booster shots to help your body's immunity and consider the different proteins that would go into the vaccines, such as spike protein. For the rest of the interview, they go into the details concerning our preparedness by discussing the payment for producing vaccines and how resources are being suitably divided based on Dr. Fauci's different priorities. They finally close off with Dr. Fauci explaining how the entire process of creating the vaccine began early on in the pandemic and the different stages of testing that have taken place. From the detailed information provided in this episode of the TWiV podcast, I can conclude that scientists like Dr.Fauci are working very hard to produce effective vaccines and find more information about the virus all while keeping the public’s safety in mind.

Anonymous said...

I found the podcast “This Week in Virology” to be a very intriguing podcast reflecting the present situation of the world. As stated in the article “How You Should Read Coronavirus Studies, Or Any Science Paper" written by Carl Zimmer, finding a resource that is reliable and accurate is extremely important, in the current times.



This week's podcast specifically featured Dr. Anthony Fauci, who discussed and answered questions about testing for the virus, transmission, and if and how schools will open in September. Dr. Fauci’s views in the podcast provides viewers with the thoughts and viewpoints of professionals who are widely knowledgeable on virology and Covid-19. The procedures elaborated in the podcast for schools to reopen is particularly interesting. To elaborate, Fauci said that one of the things that will affect this is if children, who are known not to get sick from the virus are capable of getting infected or transmitting the disease. He said that a study started in May called the HERO studies, which involves over 2000 families, will answer this question by collecting data on rate of infection, transmissibility to family members, and antibody response. Fauci also mentioned in the podcast that schools need to open because of the ripple effects that will occur if they don’t, but it really depends and varies based on the status of the specific county. Some counties could easily open up schools, but for some areas, it would not be safe to open schools, and precautions would be necessary if they were to open. This ties into the recent Board of Education meeting in Monroe, which decided that elementary and middle schools will be open two days a week, and each day will have a different group of students. In addition to this, before entering the building, parents and students will be screened, and their temperatures will be taken. Another scientist from the Broad Institute believes a one-dollar daily saliva test is necessary for opening up businesses and schools, and Fauci believes the same. The current plan for schools is to check temperatures, but if a quick and cheap test such as that proposed by the scientist from the Broad Institute is implemented into the school screening procedures, schools will become much safer.



Fauci also mentioned that autopsies are vital for understanding and curing the virus. Recent reports show that the virus can infect the vascular system, the brain, and the kidneys. Autopsies will help identify if these reports are accurate, and further increase our understanding of the virus. In terms of an actual cure for the disease, Fauci believes that herd immunity, which is when a majority of a community is immune to the disease, is not feasible since many people will get infected and sick in the process of achieving herd immunity. I agree with Dr. Fauci on this, since to achieve herd immunity, it will take quite a bit of time during which many more people will get sick from the virus. As a result of this developing a vaccine is the best option to cure the disease.



The podcast ended with Dr. Fauci talking about the procedure for developing a cure. The government has invested high quantities of money to the multiple companies that are developing cures, and the companies in turn make high amounts of the vaccine before they know if it will work or not to save time and to ensure that it will be distributed. Fauci also reveals his thoughts for the future of the NIAID. He believes Congress will invest more money in the institute and preparedness for the next big pandemic that we may face in the future.


In conclusion, I enjoyed listening to the podcast, as it was very informative and hearing a professional's thoughts and views on the situation was very helpful. I think I will use this podcast as a resource in the future.

Anonymous said...

I found that the podcast was interesting and I was able to learn a lot knowing that the information I was learning about was a creditable and accurate. The professors on the podcast and the guest Dr. Fauci were able to share the most accurate information as they specialized in Infectious Diseases, as the corona virus is. The podcast touched on many aspects of COVID-19 including testing, vaccines, transmission and preparedness. Other topics like the importance of wearing masks and reopening schools were also discussed in the podcast. There has been a notion about how children do not contract the virus nearly as much as adults true which may be some what true but not a logical defense to use when trying to negotiate opening schools for the next school year. Keeping that in mind Dr, Fauci explains the importance of trying to get to a place where children can attend school because education is important yet advocating for the most safe possible way. This notion however may be slightly true there is still a possibility that children could get the virus and can quite possibly pass it to their family members and other students. After listening to this podcast I learned about how COVID-19 could be transferred through droplets, aerosols and contact. This is why there is such a strong urge to wear masks when in public and to try to remain 6 feet apart. Overall I found this podcast very interesting and clarified many of the issues that are being discussed in the world right now.

Anonymous said...

This week I had the opportunity to view the podcast, “TWiv 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci.” This podcast, as provided in the bio, discusses SARS-CoV-2 transmission, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines, and preparedness. Dr. Anthony Fauci explains that these types of viruses are transmitted throughout the air. Most likely, two people standing in the appropriate distance of six feet will not receive these droplets which contain the virus. On the topic of droplets, Dr. Anthony Fauci states what he believes is the current predominant way that someone gets the virus through transmission. The virus can be transferred through droplets which are, for example, coughed out into the air and inhaled by a person who is not particularly social distancing. The virus can also be spread through surfaces. For example, if someone coughs on to their hand and opens a door and another person opens that same door a few minutes later. Dr. Fauci believes that it is mostly droplet predominant and that’s why masks are a crucial part of our everyday lifestyle. Moving on, the podcast talks about how coronavirus parents shed RNA threshold cycles and how it might or might not be a severe new way for the virus to be transmitted. Dr. Fauci explains how transmission throughout these threshold cycles have a miniscule percentage and effect on the transmission of the virus. This is because you can't exactly culture infectious viruses due to the fact it is just dead nucleotides. When being tested and it showing up positive, you cannot immediately get the threshold, instead you need to come back and ask for it, as well. When talking about the difference between asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic versus the finality of symptomatic, they have their very own dangers. For example, if only a few people in a large population appears to contain a few symptoms, it might result in the transmission of a virus throughout the entire population. This does not mean one person transmitted the virus to a thousand other people in the population by one cough, but it does mean that this is the result of asymptomatic carriage. There is also a huge discussion, almost an argumentative one, about the opinion on schools closing and/or opening. Some people claim that the virus transmits differently through children than adults and the answer is that it is still a question that no one has an answer to. There are going to be many experimental trials to figure out if that is the case or not, though. For example, how children can transmit the virus to family members and what their response towards that would be. Dr. Fauci also explains that he would like to get kids back to school due to the fact that there are many problems arising due to this and it almost hit like a ripple effect. He believes that we can do this by maybe shifting class timings, wearing masks, protecting vulnerable individuals etc. Moving forward to testing, Dr. Fauci discusses that to get through these tough times we would need to have simple, easy and affordable testing in the future. This can mainly help large groups of people like classrooms or factory workers and we can quickly point out who is positive for this virus. I believe that this can really help Monroe Township due to the fact that we are a overpopulated town and some students don’t portray as much information on a screen as they do face to face learning with a teacher. To conclude off, the podcast discusses the factor of immunity and how it or will not affect the United States. Immunity can be achieved through the work of a vaccine, although if a vaccine is made, there is no factual response to how long the vaccine will keep an individual immune towards their surroundings.

Audrey Chen said...

The podcast provides a very helpful conversation on COVID-19 with the esteemed health professional Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In this episode, Dr. Fauci answers questions from viewers of the virology podcast, allowing the public to connect closer with medical professionals. To start off, the host discusses the three modes of transmission for coronavirus: droplets, aerosol, and contact. Dr. Fauci discusses how aerosol and droplets need further research, but regardless they should not be ignored. There are many cases being overexaggerated in the media, but it is our job to sift through the noise and find the truth. Dr. Fauci insinuates how there is really so little scientists know for sure about COVID-19. While we do know for sure coronavirus can last on certain surfaces, many mores studies need to be conducted on various other aspects of the virus and disease. One study being conducted at this instant is the Hero's study looking to gauge how children transmit the virus. This information will help inform schools' of their possible plans for reopening. Interestingly, Dr. Fauci supports the reopening of schools, but he emphasizes that decisions on protocols should be left up to each school district. Fauci also touches upon herd immunity, the popular idea circulating around medical circles. While this phenomenon is possible without the vaccine, by the time it is achieved drastic damage will already be levied. Ultimately, Dr. Fauci stresses the need for a vaccine that can be distributed fast.

Anonymous said...

The podcast “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci” by Vincent Racaniello interviews Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, about the pandemic. Fauci is at the forefront of the COVID-19 epidemic. In order to inform the public of all the sides of the epidemic, the host broke down the interview into transmission, testing, immunity, pathogenes, vaccines, and preparedness. To begin with, the host asked Fauci which way he thinks the virus is predominantly spreading; Fauci responded saying standard droplets are the most prevalent way of transmission. Although the majority of the questions asked did not have an answer, it is comforting to know that at one point all the data will be collected to reach a conclusion. Fauci repeatedly mentioned studies that are being performed to collect data. For example, it is still unsure whether children can transmit the virus to adults. To gain an understanding, HERO studies is collecting data from kids of 2,000 families. Scientists will be testing the rate of infection, the transmissibility to parents, and the antibody responses. Fauci personally believes that depending on the area, some schools should reopen and some shouldn’t. Some questions may remain a mystery. Fauci did not seem confident that testing everyday at schools and offices will work. Until a vaccine comes out, more people will probably be affected. Another conversation they had was about herd immunity. Although New York has a higher percent than all other areas in America, overall we have a long way till we reach herd immunity. The pandemic will be a high priority issue for a while, and it is important that we receive direct information from officials working closely with the case.

Anonymous said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19,” with the hosts, Vincent Racanoello and Rich Condit, featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci. In the first section, Dr. Fauci described the three ways of transmission: droplets, aerosol, and contact. The virus can stay on surfaces, steel and plastic for approximately 48-72 hours. Nonetheless, droplets are predominant and the transmission of droplets can be avoided with the use of masks. Dr. Facui explains how it is hard to collect data of the asymptomatic and presymptomatic vs. symptomatic cases, but concludes that the extensive spread of the virus was a result of the many unknown asymptomatic carriages. Many people have a lot of questions concerning the reopening of school this fall. Dr. Anthony Fauci believes that depending on the circumstances students should return to school to avoid the “ripple effect”. The reopening of schools will depend on the area, teachers’ support, masks, and daily saliva testing. A test, called the HERO study, is being conducted with 6000 kids and 2000 families to understand how a child’s body responds to the virus and the transmission. With the use of autopsies, we will be able to see if there are lasting effects of the virus in all the organs. Some of the information is not definite, as it was only been 6 months of COVID-19, a better overview will come in one or two years. Dr. Fauci and his team are soon going to start phase three of their vaccine trial at the end of July. Companies are developing doses of vaccines that can be distributed to tens and thousands of people by the first quarter of 2021. Before COVID-19, there were programs to help prevent a pandemic, however, for the future, a lot more money is going to be placed by the government in programs to be prepared. From viewing this podcast, I better understand the amount of work all companies are putting in to help the situation. Overall, I learned about the vaccines in trial and the possible distribution of the vaccine to thousands of people by 2021 and I intend to use this podcast in the future.

Kevin Hoppe said...

This week I listened to the podcast, “TWiV 641: Covid-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci,” where many aspects of the coronavirus were discussed. Dr. Fauci is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, so the information that he discussed is some of the most trustworthy out there. In one of the previous articles we had to read, we learned how difficult it can be to get trustworthy information on the coronavirus, especially since so many scientific reports are coming out all at once, so hearing this podcast all from the man in charge reassures that this information is as accurate as it gets. The podcast talked about a variety of issues concerning the coronavirus, but the discussion of reopening schools and herd immunity was what interested me the most. I was surprised to hear Fauci talk about the reopening of schools, since in all honesty I don’t see that as a pressing issue for scientists. He talked about a study on the coronavirus that specifically focused on kids, and if the study continues it could reveal a lot concerning transmission rates in children. He also said that if schools do reopen multiple safety measures must be taken, like wearing masks, splitting up in school attendance, and daily testing. As a high schooler, I do not think being in school is necessary to learn, and I feel like it has been very effective learning at home, but I know for younger students it can be a struggle learning online, which is why it is important we are able to go back to school as soon as it is safe to do so. However, right now I do not think it is safe at all to go back and in the end health is more important than a complete education. Besides education, the discussion of herd immunity is also interesting. Fauci believes herd immunity will not completely work, because while it may not be immediate, reinfection is possible. This is why a vaccine will be the best solution, but it will take time. Throughout the podcast, even Fauci is not afraid to admit that he does not know answers to certain questions because there is still so much to learn about the virus.

tanvi sivakumar said...

This week on TWiV podcast with Vincent Racanoello and Rich Condit ft. Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed many topics and relevant information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fauci is the head of the National Institue of Allergy and Infectious Disease, making the information told during this podcast very reliable. He first discussed three forms of transmission of the disease: droplets, aerosol, and contact. He explains that the virus can contaminate a surface of steel or plastic for about 48-72 hours, and the best way to avoid droplets is through the use of masks, which is how the disease is most commonly spread. He explains the difference between asymptomatic, presymptomatic, and symptomatic cases, saying how difficult it is to collect data between the three, but taking into consideration the majority of the cases have been asymptomatic. Dr. Fauci mentions that if schools were to reopen, it would be dependent on the area, the teachers, mask regularity, and testing of the students and faculty. He discussed how they are unsure of how the transmission between adults and children are affected, but they are conducting many experiments to find the variability. One way is the HERO study, it's a study conducted with kids from about 2000 families. Testing the rate of infection, transmissibility, and the response from antibodies, some schools should and should not reopen. Dr. Fauci is hesitant whether daily testing in school would be effective, but recognizes before there is a vaccine, more people are prone to be infected. Another topic touched upon was the idea of herd immunity. This is a case regarding medical circles. Although this phenomenon is highly unlikely at the moment, it is not deemed impossible. This is why he explains that without a vaccine it's hard to determine how long a person can stay immune to their environment before they become susceptible again, stressing the need for a vaccine as soon as possible.

Anonymous said...

For this week's assignment I viewed the podcast, “This Week In Virology #641, Covid-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci.” The director of the NIAID and the nation's leading expert on the coronavirus pandemic was a guest on the show where they discussed topics relating to the virus in depth. The first item for discussion were the means of transmission of the virus like droplets, aerosol and contact. Fauci explains that while aerosol and surface contact are possibilities for the transmission of the virus, the most prevalent way we assume it has been spread is through droplets from infected individuals, but that we must still be wary of surface transmission due to the 48-72 hour span at which the virus can be transmitted through surfaces. The co-host of the shows goes on to use that statement to reinforce the necessities of wearing a mask, to which Fauci wholeheartedly agrees. They proceed to talk about asymptomatic transmission to which Fauci replies that we really have no hard estimates to percentages, but by his best guess it would have to be a considerable portion of cases transferred asymptomatically. This discussion carried over to discussing schools where Dr. Fauci pointed to the fact that they don’t have all the information on whether children actually transmit the virus, but to my surprise, he said that we should try to get kids back to school. He said, the results from the HERO study would provide answers to the rate of infection in children. The means at which they open vary by location as those with high cases should be wary and those with limited cases, not so much. The hosts and Dr. Fauci then went on to discuss how schools should go about opening if they do. Ideas including alternating days, wearing masks, and day and afternoon schedules. They also discussed working on a new way of testing, that has not yet been developed, where we could get immediate results and be 100% certain that nobody at the school has been infected with the virus. Transitioning from talking about schools, they moved on to whether the virus was limited to the respiratory system. Based on autopsy reports of COVID-19 patients, liver problems and even neural damages were caused from this virus, but at the time there is not enough evidence to back it up. Fauci however is a believer in the fact that this virus does spread and is currently awaiting on more evidence to be collected in order to prove it. The death rate of COVID-19 has been very controversial, so Fauci touched on that next by saying the estimate is around 1% and nowhere near SARS or MERS. However he said the more people infected for a not so deadly virus, the more deaths there will be in comparison to a low number of infected people with a deadly virus. Immunity was the next topic discussed, specifically herd immunity. Without a vaccine, herd immunity is wishful thinking in Fauci’s eyes as lots of people would get sick for it to work. When talking about overall immunity, Fauci says that the immunity period is estimated to be quite short and that we don’t actually know what percentage of people have immunity for long periods of time, but people with waning immunity can absolutely get reinfected. In one of the last segments of the show they talked about vaccines, and while trials have been run and have shown promising results, the issue lies in the fact that the pandemic and the vaccine trials are very young so there are no definitive conclusions. While COVID still has countless lingering questions, Dr. Fauci and scientists are trying their absolute best to find out as much as we can about it.

Sia Mathur said...

This week’s podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci”, hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Richard Condit was informative and reliable. It gave a lot of interesting answers on COVID-19 that is currently being questioned by many Americans. Both Condit and Racaniello asked questions about different aerosols, especially droplet aerosols, since it would question the effectiveness of masks. This intrigued me because I realized that some people don’t bother wearing masks when in fact, masks help a lot more rather than staying six feet apart. When Condit asked about schools reopening, Fauci discussed a study that was started in May with 6,000 kids and 2,000 families. They would use the study to track the rate of infection, if they pass it on to their families, and how well their antibodies would react to the infection being passed on. This interested me because it made me realize how much scientists are doing to decide whether kids should go back to school or not to make sure that everyone is safe. Many people are trying to get kids back to school since many teachers are asking as well but it really depends on where the schools are going to open up. There are many precautions that should be taken if people want schools to open up again and the podcast highlights a few of them that are very important like checking the temperatures of each kid that comes. Dr. Fauci discusses the idea of herd immunity and how it would compare to what is going on with the coronavirus. The idea is possible but is dangerous and puts yourself and other people in harm as well. If herd immunity were to be tested with the people in the country, then there would have to be a vaccine present which is still being worked on by scientists. The pandemic is still a big issue even if some states are out of lockdown and somewhat back to a normal life. There are still many precautions to be taken before actually going back to the normal life people had before the coronavirus. This podcast interested me and taught me a lot because it gave me a perspective from a highly intelligent point of view, instead of just news outlets. It also gave a lot of insight and information about going back to school which has been a huge question not only on parents’ minds, but children’s as well. Overall, I thought this podcast was a good watch since it gave us a lot of information and gave answers for unanswered questions that were heavily pondered.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed listening to this podcast episode not only because it was about SARS-CoV-2, which is a key player in our lives right now, but also because I am in the process of starting a podcast with my Executive Board about environmental engagement, policies, and the like. Listening to a professionally produced science podcast, gave me a better idea of the general episode outline as well as the flow of questioning that comes with two co-hosts and a guest. In terms of the science, I appreciate the willingness of Dr. Fauci to plainly say that he does not have the answers or that he is not sure about particular points of inquiry that were raised throughout the episode. Additionally, he was cognizant of the fact that a crisis such as this can only be fought with educated guesses and prior knowledge as we deal with a completely new situation (20:22-20:36). I found this especially powerful coming from one of the leading scientists and physicians in the United States, because of the epidemic of the "I Know All" expert, brought to light by Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, more commonly known as Dr. Mike, during his 2017 TedX Talk. The "I Know All" (IKA) Expert goes about as if they know all the answers, have all the cures and can combat any problem with a seemingly simple solution. Unfortunately, as is evident by our current predicament, this pandemic will not be solved with a quick fix or a miracle cure. We, the general public, will have to suffice with the best that the scientific community can afford, an intelligent guess supported by the best available science of this time. And we must also remember that science-based current events are fluid, with discoveries, better understanding, and different strategies consistently changing the rules of the game with new information.

Jaymin Vaidya said...

For this weeks assignment, I watched the podcast “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci.” In it, coronavirus was discussed in great detail. Anthony Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The information presented by him is very reliable, as he is responsible for coming up with solutions to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Being a frequent user of the internet, I often come across information about COVID-19, and have developed a habit of checking the sources of the research before believing what I see. This podcast was very refreshing because I knew the information was accurate as it came directly from Dr. Fauci. I liked how the podcast was well organized into 6 sections: transmission, testing, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines, and preparedness. In the first section, Dr. Fauci discussed the variety of ways droplets could spread COVID-19. He stated they could stay on surfaces for a very long time, and urges the public to continue to wear masks. Next came the topic that stood out to me the most: the discussion of schools. Being an incoming senior, I’d love to go back, however due to the circumstances I understand the schools decision to continue remote learning. Dr. Fauci is still exploring methods of reopening schools in a safe way as he believes not going to school for this long will have many negative effects on the youth. Something that surprised me was how much about the coronavirus is still unknown despite it being a worldwide pandemic. When discussing immunity, Dr, Fauci stated it was still unknown what would occur if you were to get coronavirus two times. The virus is very subjective, as it’s effects depend on a variety of factors like age, preexisting conditions, etc. After finishing this podcast, I realized the coronavirus is much more complex than I thought. I really enjoyed hearing what these very intelligent people had to say, and thought the questions were very thought provoking.

Anonymous said...

The podcast “TWiV:COVID-19 with Dr.Anthony Fauci” consists of Dr.Fauci addressing both SARS CoV2 and COVID-19 through questions about the pandemic. Throughout the podcast the topics discussed include transmission, testing, immunity, vaccines, etc...
Dr. Fauci began with being asked to address the three types of transmission: droplets, aerosol, and contact. He began by stating that droplets are considered to be the main form of transmission, which contributes to why wearing masks and face coverings are extremely important. However due to the rate and effect of aerosol transmissions being unknown, it is quite possible that aerosol transmission also greatly contributes to the amount infected. Next, when asked about transmission in regards to asymptomatic, presymptomatic, and symptomatic people, he gave an example of sailors on the Teddy Roosevelt Nuclear Aircraft carrier. There were only a few sailors that were symptomatic but eventually, thousands of sailors were infected and showing symptoms. Dr. Fauci believes that this could not just be due to the few symptomatic people and the asymptomatic and presymptomatic people most likely contributed greatly to the total of infected individuals. Dr. Fauci was also asked about the belief that children acquire and transmit the virus differently from adults. He stated that there is not much evidence to support that currently, but there is a study that began on May 1st known as “The HEROES Study” in which there are 6,000 children in 2,000 families and researchers will be studying the rate of infection, the transmissibility to parents and family members, and,if the children get sick, what the response of their antibodies are. Dr. Fauci said that this study would soon yield them results that are vital to schools reopening and it is better to have these statistics then simply making a guess at the possible effects of reopening schools. According to Dr. Fauci, under the circumstances, schools should be doing their best to have children be able to return to them in the fall otherwise there could be future consequences upon children, their parents, and society. However, whether or not schools should open once again depends on the area in which they are situated. There are some counties and townships that are definitely safe enough for kids to return but there are other areas which can most definitely not have children returning to school yet. The number one responsibility of schools, as stated by Dr.Fauci, is to have enough safety protocols to make sure both students and faculty members are safe. Another major part of sending kids to school would be having everyone tested for COVID-19 if possible, as it would be a great relief to all those that are returning to school, to know that everyone within the building tested negative. Later on into the podcast, Dr.Fauci also said that the amount of asymptomatic people greatly affects the fatality rate from the infection when asked about his thoughts on the nation’s fatality rate. All in all, this was an extremely informative session and it was both enlightening and refreshing to hear recent information and statistics from a reputed health official.

Gianna Hammill said...

The Podcast, “This Week in Virology (TWiV)” was a refreshing and reliable source of information amidst the pandemic. Doctor Anthony Fauci from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is being interviewed about the transmission and testing of COVID-19, along with other social issues. The importance of wearing a mask and social distancing are supported through their discussion of transmission through droplets, for example, Fauci explains how coughing into your hand and touching a door handle would spread the virus if someone were to touch it fifteen minutes later. This could be prevented by wearing a mask, in addition to coughing into your elbow.
Later on in the podcast, the question of wether schools should reopen or not came up. Fauci gives a realistic answer when he claims that it depends on where in the US we’re talking about. Depending on the state, it would be either completely fine to return to school, whereas some should not go at all. He does caution that schools reopening would be good for society as a whole, but some teacher may not want to come into work. Personally, i would love to get back into school because these are new classes and topics that i’ve never had before, but we shouldn’t be in school all day/ all together at once. It would be hard to enforce social distancing as well, and if they do it alphabetically, some classes will have more students than others. Ultimately, there is a lot of information that is still unknown, but more (reliable) information will be coming out.

Anonymous said...

The podcast This Week in Virology (TWiV) with guest Dr Anthony Fauci from the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)was very informative of certain updates regarding SARS-CoV2/COVID-19. The podcast started with discussing the several ways of transmission including droplets, aerosol, and contact. With this discussion they concluded the most common type of transmission is droplets, which shows the importance of wearing masks and maintaining a safe distance of six feet. They also discussed how there is still a lot unknown about transmission through aerosols. Throughout the podcast Dr Anthony Fauci, although very intelligent on the issue, doesn’t have the answers to all the questions. This is because there is still a lot unknown about SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 because of the short amount of time scientists have had to research and collect data on it. For example in the podcast they talked about the inconclusive evidence of whether children transmit the virus the same way as adults. However in time they hope to be able to answer this question through the heroes study which tests children to study the rate of infection, the transmission, and how antibodies respond. Along with this testing, people are making efforts to make quick and affordable tests that could easily identify if a person is infected. These tests are very important because they could help students get back into schools, and workers into factories without the fear that someone in the room may be infected and contagious. Furthermore data is also being collected about whether the virus is only respiratory or whether it is moving around the body to vital organs such as the liver or the brain. Through autopsy scientists hope to discover whether the virus is moving or is completely a respiratory infection. A majority of scientists efforts are also being put to developing a vaccine with the use of the protein spike to block infection and to gain some form of immunity. However scientists are unsure of whether a vaccine will be able to prevent the virus or if we could still contract it again. Scientists are looking to see if the vaccine will need boosters in order for us to stay healthy. Overall from the podcast I learned that scientists are working at a rate never seen before to fully understand the virus and work for a solution to keep everyone healthy.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed listening to the podcast "TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr.Anothony Facui", by Vincent Rocaniello because it helped me better understand what we are going through right now. In the podcast, Dr. Facui first started by discussing how exactly this disease can be transmitted from one person to the other. He believes that droplets are the main cause of the spread of COVID-19, so it is important to wear a mask when you are in public. Maintaining a 6-feet distance from another person/object also lowers the chance of the droplets reaching you. However, the aerosol will still be lingering in the air or on nearby surfaces, so when you are outside it's important not to touch anything that may have a chance of being exposed to the virus. In fact, COVID-19 may last on surfaces for up to 72 hours. Because of the lack of studies, even Dr. Fauci is not 100% sure what is going on, but what he did confirm is that asymptomatic patients could spread the virus. However in general, for an entire population to get sick, there will have to be a lot of symptomatic people. Therefore the link between symptomatic people, asymptomatic people, the transmission of the virus, etc is unknown. Dr. Fauci then discussed children and COVID-19. As far as we know, children can get affected the same way as adults because there is no research to prove otherwise. He believes that children should go back to school while at the same time take certain precautions. He says that having alternate days of class and requiring students to wear a face mask should be enough to get kids back into school. A saliva-based test for all children should also be used as well as testing for COVID-19. Additionally, it was also discussed how this virus can affect other parts of the body other than the respiratory system. That is why certain scientists are focusing on the autopsy reports of deceased patients. It is unsure if the virus can affect other parts of the body, but that gives a stronger reason why we need a vaccine soon. The topic of herd immunity is also discussed in the podcast, and the only way herd immunity is possible is if a large number of people get sick. To avoid this we need a vaccine soon. Scientists are working hard to come up with a vaccine, and the results are promising. However, with the lack of understanding of the virus, it is unsure if we will have a vaccine in time. Nothing is certain yet, but everyone is doing the best they can to prevent the spread of this disease.

Grace Lee said...

While listening to the podcast I thought it was interesting that Dr. Anthony Fauci mentioned that transmissions are more likely from droplets than aerosols. Previously, I was not familiar with the difference between the two. This helped me understand the real reason why wearing masks are so helpful. It was also informative how they explained the threshold cycle and the difficulty of culturing this infectious virus. The discussion about whether children get infected and transmit this virus is pertinent to us now as we prepare for school. Dr. Fauci stressed that decisions vary greatly depending on location, but that it is important to go back because of the other effects it can have on society. Drawing from personal connections, my dad and sisters are both teachers and this has been a common discussion we've had as well. As a first grade teacher, many of my sister's students have missed out on important aspects of educational and social development that virtual learning cannot provide. He then explained that there are studies formed to find out data about this specifically which amazes me to see how thorough and quickly the science community has been working because of this virus. He seems optimistic that the Moderna vaccine will be helpful for a short period of time. I found it hopeful that they are working to find something effective for at least a short period of time before releasing a booster shot.

Ria Patel said...

This week the podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci” by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit as well as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci discussed information about the current pandemic. It was interesting hearing directly from such a reliable source since there is a great deal of false information available to the public as mentioned in the first articles that we read. He begins by discussing the 3 types of transmission of the virus: droplets, aerosol, and contact. Dr. Fauci explains how he believes that droplets are the prime way of getting the virus through crowds and touching the same items. This is why masks are so important. Furthermore, he discusses the differences between asymptomatic and presymptomatic and symptomatic cases. Although it’s difficult to collect data on these cases, he mentions that unknown asymptomatic cases have caused the virus to spread immensely. In regards to schools reopening and the belief that children spread the virus differently, Dr. Fauci explains that there is not any conclusive evidence. However, there is a study with kids that focuses on the rate of infection, transmissibility to parents and family members, and their antibody responses in order to figure out the uncertainty. He also explains that school districts should try to get the kids in school because the consequences down the road could be detrimental. In addition, Dr. Fauci explains that every place is different. In order to send kids back to school, each district has to make their own modifications in order to safely allow students and teachers to enter. The idea of herd immunity is also very interesting. Dr. Fauci believes that getting herd immunity without a vaccine would result in a lot of people getting sick and reinfection can happen because the virus has only been around for 6 months. There is still so much to learn in the coming years. Ultimately, Dr. Fauci stresses the importance of getting a vaccine as quickly as possible. He mentions how his team just published phase one data of the Moderna vaccine. There are still many trials and testing stages taking place and the government has and will continue to invest money into the development of a vaccine. Although Dr. Fauci heavily informed listeners about the virus, he did mention how there is still so much that is unknown. As a result, as research into the virus continues, there will be more information that will be learned regarding immunity.

Anjana Kottaiveedu said...

The podcast was extremely informative and a good source of information on COVID-19. I can trust the information because it is coming from knowledgeable people such as Dr. Anthony Fauci (head off National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). It is also the latest and most up to date we can get. The discussion included ways of transmission, vaccines, and testing. COVID is spread by droplets, aerosols, and contact. The assumption has been that droplets is the main transmission, but aerosols are being studied as well. A good example of aerosol transmission is the HongKong hotels with SARS. The infection was able to spread through the vents vertically and horizontally, all the way to another hotel. Lab studies showed that infections were able to last 48 to 72 hours on surfaces. That is why wearing masks, avoiding contact, and washing hands is important. The “Hero Study” began in May 1. Its purpose is to observe transmissibility between family members. The topic of sending kids back to school also arose. Kids do not get as sick as adults, and Dr. Fauci says it’s good for kids to go back to school as quickly as possible. There could be a long term effect on parents, kids, and society itself if kids can’t go back to school. In conclusion, this podcast was very informative and something I will check up on to gain more knowledge about this pandemic.

Anonymous said...

The podcast ”TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci'' focuses on the many different aspects regarding Sars-CoV2. Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Dr. Anthony Fauci begin the podcast with discussing transmission. According to Racaniello, the three main ways of transmission include droplets, aerosols, and contact, but Fauci mainly emphasizes droplets. With the emphasis of droplets came Fauci’s emphasis on maintaining a distance of six feet as droplets typically can not travel that far. In Fauci’s opinion, droplets are more of a cause for concern with transmission compared to surfaces, despite the fact that the virus can very well be prominent on surfaces for seventy two hours. I appreciate the fact that Rich Condit and Vincent Racaniello ask questions that the layperson is interested in. A discussion about those who are presymptomatic, asymptomatic, and symptomatic came up, but it came to a conclusion with an affirmation that all three further result in the transmission of the virus. Following this conclusion came a conversation about the reopening of schools and the transmission of the virus with children, where the question of whether or not kids get infected came up. How the virus affects/spreads among children is extremely important when considering reopening schools, but not many studies exist regarding this topic, which makes the decision even more difficult than it already is. The “HERO” studies are and have been conducted since May 1st with 6,000 kids in 2,000 different families which hopefully will provide more information about the rate of infection and the transmissibility to parents. Fauci believes that it's important for kids to go back to school because the costs not only hurt them, but also parents and society. If kids do return to school, proper precautions will of course be taken whether it be masks or alternating days. Rich Condit asks Fauci’s take on whether or not SARS-CoV2 causes a systemic infection. Fauci doesn’t give a conclusive answer, but states that he believes that the study of autopsies will be useful in this determination. These types of studies are currently being conducted. Immunity is the next topic that is discussed, where a question about herd immunity is posed. Without a vaccine, achieving herd immunity will be costly as many people are going to get sick, which is why Fauci thinks a vaccine is the best option. Reinfection is possible with coronavirus, but there is not enough studies for definitive answers as to how reinfection will affect a person in comparison to the first infection, as immunity can only last for so long. Tests are and have been conducted with results that seem hopeful for vaccines according to Fauci and his team. Spike proteins are being focused on and have been promising in relation with the creation of a vaccine. The speed at which these studies have been produced is unlike anything before according to Fauci, which I found interesting as it shows that as a society we have to expect the unexpected. The federal government has allocated proper resources which will help with the deployment of vaccines (if they work) to those who need it, which is soothing to hear. I enjoyed listening to this podcast and even though most of what Fauci said was opinion based, I felt like I learned new information based on his justification points and the studies he cited.

Anonymous said...

I watched the podcast, “This Week In Virology” (TWiV) by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit, also with Dr Anthony Fauci, who is the head of the NAtional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). The podcast was talking about how SARS-COV-2 was being transmitted, experimental vaccines and ways of transmission. Recently, a study called the “Hero Study” began on May 1, it will include 6,000 kids and 2,000 families and they will monitor the rate of infection and the transmissibility to family members to see what their antibody response. Furthermore, many people are making the assumption that the droplets that people sneeze out is the cause of the infection, but now the degree and effect that aerosol has is also raising some eyebrows. There was a study done from the Labs, which showed that infections could stay from 48 to 72 hours on surfaces, however, that was an approximate estimate. They were also discussing if they should think about sending children to school, because of the fact that they have more resistance towards the virus than adults. I think it is important that we should attend school because we don’t receive the same quality of education as we would in the classroom. All in all, this podcast was extremely informative, and it discussed several topics, including COVID, and pathogenesis, immunity, and potential vaccines for the current virus. We should use this very important information and tread more carefully so we can eventually solve this very severe problem.

Anonymous said...

This week's TWiV episode 641 hosted by Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit discussed various topics surrounding Covid-19 including transmission, testing, vaccines, and preparedness with significant insight from guest speaker, Dr. Anthony Fauci. The talk started with Dr. Fauci’s analysis of transmission. He spoke about how he mostly thinks that it is spread through droplets, but adds on how the new re-arising claims about aerosol may be a possibility as well. An example of aerosol in Hong Kong was brought up to show how it spread from one hotel's courtyard to another, which does prove that it is possible, however they are unsure how likely or how often it actually transmits via aerosol. Because of this, Dr. Fauci concludes that the droplet transmission is the predominant method and for that reason masks and facial coverings have been very effective to reduce the spread. On top of droplets, it is conclusive that the virus can in fact stay on surfaces, however as Vincent said, they do not know for sure if the virus is replication competent on surfaces. Regarding who spreads the virus, meaning asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people versus symptomatic people, Dr. Fauci was very careful with his choice of words, but he was not afraid to admit that he did not know for sure. He explains to Vincent and Rich how there is no right or wrong answer, but he does say it is not realistic to think that one symptomatic person coughed on a thousand people to infect them. Instead, he says that asymptomatic carriers were part of the spread as well, and again, for that reason, masks are effective. Rich then talks about how he has heard that children transmit the virus differently, but there is no significant evidence to back the claim. When he said this, I thought about something on the news I had heard about how children over the age of 10 spread the virus more and that is why it is more dangerous for highschools to open, but again, unlike this podcast, I cannot trust that information. Dr. Fauci called this topic a “date-free zone”. He says that children do not get sick as often, but do they become infected and continue to transmit the virus to parents at home? This lingering question has a huge relevance to schools opening, and for this reason, I think that we will unfortunately be staying at home for the fall as well. There is no solid data, but there is something Dr. Fauci mentioned called Hero Studies that began in May and is studying 6000 kids from 2000 different families to look at the rate of infection and answer this. The next topic discussed was viremia, which is the presence of virus in the blood, and how the virus may even affect the brain. Dr. Fauci discusses with them how the virus may just be respiratory and the effect on the other organs may be sequelae or the virus may be “getting out” and affecting the entire body. Again, he says, there is no proof but autopsy studies, which are still being awaited, can provide this necessary information. In relation, he talks about reinfection and if there is a built up immunity. Just like many other things regarding Covid-19, he says that other coronaviruses or flus it was max around 6 months to a year, and since it has not reached that time period, we cannot be sure what the rate of reinfection is just yet. The last topic that was discussed was the move for vaccines and preparedness. Vincent says the vaccines are mostly focused on spike proteins, and Dr. Fauci says this is because it's the way to block the infection through the binding site of the neutralizing antibody. He talks about how we need a vaccine with agents that operate early on such as convalescent plasmas and direct antivirals. This leads him into his closing talk about the moderna vaccine and how long it takes. Overall, with this virus, there are so many unanswered questions, even with professionals like Dr. Fauci because even if it seems like it has been forever, in the larger picture, this is just the start.

Anonymous said...

I very much enjoyed episode #641 of the "This Week in Virology" podcast. It detailed the way the vaccine for coronavirus is being developed and the components of potential test vaccines. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the guest of the show, discussed the plan for the distribution of a confirmed vaccine. The show also detailed the potential if the immunity developed from a vaccine or getting the disease is temporary and wanes over time what may occur. In the case of the vaccine, there would have to be supplemental vaccines after the initial dose. Fauci detailed that a vaccine may go through all of the trails and be distributed by early 2021. The doctor also hoped for similar conduct in the way companies and Congress have been investing in virus testing and vaccine. He discussed how the investors did not wait until the vaccine had gone through all stages of testing and instead invested from the start. This along with other reasons is why Fauci is optimistic for the future and I share his vision as well.

Anonymous said...

After listening to the podcast with Dr. Anthony Fauci, I have a better understanding of how much information is still unknown about COVID-19. Throughout the entire conversation, Fauci made it clear that there are really no right or wrong answers to all of the questions. I found it interesting how unanswered questions were based off of other assumptions about other questions. For example, Fauci was asked about the differing transmission rates between asymptomatic and symptomatic carriers. It would be logical to believe that an asymptomatic individual with COVID-19 would not transmit the virus as much as a symptomatic individual due to the lack of ability to spread droplets. However, it is not 100% proven that the virus cannot spread through aerosols. Therefore, it cannot yet be proven that an asymptomatic individual has less of a chance of transmitting the virus. While listening to the podcast, I learned that it is difficult to calculate a death rate for the virus because there is an unknown amount of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. The number could be much lower than it is thought to be depending on the amount of asymptomatic carriers. A question that still needs to be answered is about the immunity to the virus and how it would affect and individual that were to contract the virus multiple times. The answer is unknown because the virus is so new, and the typical immunity to other types of the coronavirus (common cold, etc.) has a duration of about six months. When it comes to returning to school, a rapid testing tool with instant results would solve so many problems because staff and students with positive test results would not be permitted into the schools. Overall, the podcast clarified how much information is still unknown about COVID-19, and how much work still needs to be done in order to defeat the pandemic.

Anonymous said...

I listened to the podcast where a physician Dr. Fauci answered questions about COVID-19. I liked this podcast because it gave a lot of information about COVID-19 and how it affects people. They discussed how the virus is transmitted between people. It’s mainly transmitted by droplets within 6 feet. It can also stay on hard surfaces and can be spread by touching it. I learned that just one symptomatic person couldn’t really transmit the virus to a big crowd and there would need to be multiple symptomatic people. There is a study started with 6,000 children being studied to get more information about how the virus affects children. This study is to find the rate of infection, transmissibility to parents and family members and to determine if they get sick. They mentioned that a vaccine needs to be made quickly because it can make sure that millions of people don’t get the virus in the future. There is so much information being studied right now because the virus is very new and it can help to find out how it affects people.

Anonymous said...

Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit discuss SARS-CoV-2 with Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr. Anthony Fauci says how droplets of the virus can stay on multiple surfaces from 24-48 hours. When a bunch of people gathers, droplets spread instantly once someone coughs. Immunity is still an unclear topic because Fauci described how a few sailors were symptomatic then a thousand sailors got sick. There is no evidence that children can transmit diseases to adults, but children have a more robust immune system than adults. However, A study will start with 6,000 kids in 2,000 families, where researchers observed the rate of infection, transmissibility, and antibody responses. The safest way to open schools for children is to let the kids go back to school. Although the area or type of counties profoundly affects the future circumstances of going to school. I think what was interesting was the idea of a one-dollar daily saliva-based antigen test. It can be instantaneous, helpful to many people, and alleviate anxiety. One thing I learned is that the fatality rate is dependent on the number of asymptomatic infections. The two essential elements of a virus are how many people get infected and how many die. The vaccine is the best option to find a reliable solution, according to Dr.Fauci. In addition to Dr.Fauci’s team, there are other studies and trials taking place to find a prominent vaccine.
Some trials backfire, while others start to show results but aren’t affirmative. Overall, Dr.Fauci informed the viewers more on questions they have been lingering in their heads. Although some questions remain unanswered, the podcast carried out with information that is hard to find in everyday articles. Dr. Fauci believes that Congress will be more willing to spend money on programs that were founded to prepare for future viruses because the virus hurt our economy tremendously. With more funding, the government can prevent better precautions to situations like the pandemic in the future.

Rithika Madugula said...

Deviating from the norm, for this week’s assignment we were tasked with tuning into Vincent Racaniello and Rich Condit’s podcast, This Week in Virology, featuring guest star Dr. Anthony Fauci. As the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Fauci was very informative and answered many of the questions circulating SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. The first topic explored in the interview was the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through droplets, aerosol, or contact. Dr. Fauci explains that though standing six feet apart may diminish the likelihood of a droplet from an infected party reaching you, there is still the possibility that virus may be transmitted through aerosols. He then demonstrates the importance of wearing masks by providing an example of the mundane way in which the disease may be transmitted; if someone coughed into their hand, used that hand to open a door, and then another someone opened that same door fifteen minutes later, it is highly likely that the latter may have contracted the virus. Later in the video, Dr. Fauci mentions a study being conducted with 6000 kids in 2000 families that aims to answer the question of whether or not children transmit/acquire the virus differently than adults. Dr. Fauci then provides insight on the matter of reopening schools, and this was probably the segment in which I was most interested because the question of whether or not schools are reopening still remains unanswered in many states—including our own. He explains that the goal is to get kids back to school but this is largely dependent on location and even if schools do reopen, there are many precautionary measures that must be taken in order to reinforce student, parent, and teacher comfortability and safety. The podcast is concluded with Dr. Fauci’s answer to the final question regarding changes NIAD may take in order to support the research of emerging pathogens. Dr. Fauci answers that NIAD has already taken steps in this direction even before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and he states that the best thing that they can do is be more prepared in the event of something like this recurring. Overall, I enjoyed this podcast a lot more than the articles we have been assigned during the previous weeks because I was able to listen and write and my focus never wandered as this was a much more interactive experience than simply reading an article.

Anonymous said...

This week for ap bio we had to watch an podcast, which is honestly a nice change of pace. Instead of reading an article we got to hear from trusted speakers, such as Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The speakers had a debate on which transmission method is the most common. Droplet, surface, or aerosol transmission where Dr. Fauci sided with droplets being the most common. Then they talked about the variants of symptoms, asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and symptomatic. Dr Fauci explains how it is difficult to collect the fatality rate. The most interesting topic though was if schools will actually open where Dr. Fauci stressed the importance of students going back to school. I hope we return to school because school is an important part of my social life and motivation as a student.

Vineet Dhillon said...

I thought that the podcast “TWiV 641: Covid-19" featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, was a very informative and intriguing discussion session. It began with the introduction of Dr. Fauci who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Throughout the podcast, I learned a lot about Covid-19, and its abilities as well as how it functions and more information about its ways of transmission, etc. The three ways of transmission as Dr. Fauci explained were the following, droplets, aerosol, and/or contact. This virus can also stay on surfaces, steel, and plastic for approximately 48-72 hours. The spread of the virus can be reduced with the use of masks since they will partially protect our airways from these droplets or pathogens. Another thing that specifically caught my attention in the podcast was the idea of herd immunity. The concept of herd immunity is where large bodies of people eventually build up immunity to the virus or show resistance, and this may be possible in a distant future. Dr. Fauci also spoke of schools reopening, but it would be done in a fashion where safety precautions for sanitization and social distancing would be in place. Personally, I believe that Dr. Fauchi supports the idea of education back to functionality, but at the same time, he believes that herd immunity will not work well and that a vaccine is the best possible solution. He admits that things are still unknown about the virus, and this vaccine could take up to a year or more to produce. His honesty is what allows me to have respect for him and overall I thank him for keeping us all well informed and up to date on the virus.

Sanjana Archakam said...

Listening to this week’s podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19,” featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci helped further my knowledge about the virus quite a lot, and answered some questions about what the future may hold for us. To begin with, the asymptomatic nature of many patients was brought to my attention, and made me realize this could’ve caused the fast spread of the virus. I feel that this can be avoided now with the usage of masks. Even though there are three sources of transmission for the virus, (droplets, aerosol, and contact), Fauci confirmed that masks are highly effective when stopping the spread of the disease. While many people downplay the importance of a mask, I am glad Fauci’s expert opinion can help put these suspicions to rest. Additionally, there was news of a study concerning kids and COVID-19 that can be used to evaluate whether schools are ready to open. As a high school senior myself, I believe that remote learning is the best option, as the densely populated high school would be hard to social distance and follow health regulations in. While their is news of a vaccine, it is only in phase three. Therefore, while the future of COIVD-19 seems to be coming to an end, we still need to observe social distancing and other health regulations to do our part to prevent the spread of the virus.

Anonymous said...

During this entire SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 pandemic, every new question comes with several uncertainties. Dr. Fauci honestly concluded that there are multiple “I don’t know’s” to questions regarding this pandemic, but virologist grouping together with other experts and teams for clinical trials are striving to come closer to a conclusion. One question in particular caught my interest: do people who recover from the SARS-CoV2 virus grow partially immune to the disease that it causes (COVID-19) the second time around? Although there hasn’t been any particular research toward this question, experiments and trials may be the only way out. A part of the podcast talked about statistical data and the hardships that the science community faces in terms of predicting what the effects of COVID-19 will look like in 1 or 2 years, or how it looks like at the moment. However, statistical data is almost dependent on the accuracy of presymptomatic and asymptomatic infections, and their impact. Instead of going after accuracy, it’s important that progress is made. The idea is to at least progress to a stage where most of the sick patients are not required to enter a hospital. This pandemic has originated from a small area in China and has grown so rapidly and out of control that immediate steps have to overweigh the amount of money invested into actually creating a vaccine. Dr. Fauci mentioned in the podcast that “It’s worth investing the money to save a lot of time” (“This Week in Virology”). With the second wave of this pandemic hitting our population, we can’t wait for another three months in order to invest our money into a vaccine—what needs to be done is urgent to some limit. The questions that are answered (with extensive research, studies, data and team work) today will be something that virologists and other experts in the medical field use as a starting point for further discoveries in the future.

Anonymous said...

As of today I watched This Week in Virology podcast conducted by Vincent Racaniello that featured head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. The podcast focused on the infamous SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease. Dr. Fauci answered many questions regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission, testing, immunity, pathogenesis, vaccines and preparedness but there were certain topics that caught my eye. I was most interested in what Dr. Fauci had to say about the reopening of schools as it relates directly to me. Unfortunately the question was answered vaguely there was not a specific answer that was given, but he did say that scientists are striving to reopen schools as there are many drawbacks to remote learning. I also liked how he brought up the perspective of teachers. Many people disregard how a teacher may feel coming back to school with the pandemic going on. Another topic that Dr. Fauci delved into was the spread of the virus through the three primary routes of contact, droplets, and aerosol. He went into detail about how there is no accurate way to predict the exact risks, but it is clear that droplets are the prodemoninat way in which the virus is spread. All in all, I found this podcast very insightful as it provided an abundance of reliable, recent, and relevant information regarding coronavirus.

Anonymous said...

This week we listened to a podcast with Dr. Anthony Fauci. It was nice to listen to a podcast because it provided a new way of getting information on the virus. Everyday we are constantly learning new things about COVID-19 and it is important that we keep ourselves informed. Dr. Fauci discussed the fact that in America, we are looking at droplets in our saliva as one of the main ways of spreading COVID-19. A topic that interested me a lot was the discussion about whether or not schools should open. Dr. Fauci brought up the point of geographical location in relation to schools opening. Depending on where you live, there may be a high or low risk to opening schools. Schools should take that into account when making their decisions. I personally hope that our schools opens because it is a necessary forum for social interaction which I enjoy. Immunity was also a big topic of discussion. It will interesting to see just how long those who have already been infected will have immunity from the virus. Hopefully we will not lose too many human lives in search of the answer to this question. Several vaccines have also began their final stages of testing and that is very encouraging. I’m glad that our government and the President are putting great emphasis on getting a vaccine tested and hopefully we will have a vaccine ready. This way we can all feel safer in our society. This podcast made me very happy and optimistic for the future as it relates to COVID-19.

Anonymous said...

The podcast, “TWiV 641: Covid-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci,” touches on COVID-19, in regards to the transmission, testing, immunity, vaccines, and preparedness of the virus. Dr. Fauci mentions a variety of ways the virus can be transmitted: through droplet, surface, and aerosol transmission. However, Dr. Fauci clarifies that the predominant way the virus is transmitted is through droplets. Dr. Fauci then proceeds to inform the viewers about the three types of symptoms that are present within the infected population: asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic. The variation in symptoms makes it difficult to find a pattern that is associated with this novel coronavirus and as a result makes it more difficult to identify the virus. Dr. Fauci emphasizes the fact that we don’t know that much about this virus and therefore makes it very unpredictable; this makes it hard for scientists to gather definitive information that can be shared with the public. An important question that Dr. Fauci touches on is the reopening of schools. He elaborates on a study that is being conducted on the spread and effects of COVID-19 on children. This study is important because it can reveal valuable information concerning the transmission of the virus between children. Dr. Fauci voices his opinion on the matter of reopening schools and states that it is vital for students to return to school as their absence has led to a vast majority of unintended consequences throughout the population. He says that if schools open there must be a variety of safety measures that must be implemented such as wearing masks at all times, maintaining a distance between desks, and daily body temperature tests. Although, reopening school has its drawbacks, the most important one being the increased risk of contracting the virus; this can be detrimental because if a student contracts the virus and is asymptomatic, he or she could spread the virus to their family members which would cause the virus to spread even more as the family members come in contact with more people. However, I personally believe that schools should reopen as the most effective way of learning is in class, as many students do not pay attention to the content at home and millions of students will continue to fall behind if they do not get the attention they need to progress in school. Dr. Fauci emphasizes the critical need of vaccines to be created to end this pandemic. He further discusses promising vaccines that could prevent the virus such as the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine which has shown promising test results. Dr. Fauci closes off explaining that the research of vaccines that can prevent the coronavirus has been started early in the pandemic and that there have been different stages of testing that have taken place. Ultimately, Dr. Fauci and many other scientists like him have been working very hard to inform the public about the virus so they take proper precautions and have also been working to produce effective vaccines that will stop the spread of the virus and end this pandemic.

Anonymous said...

The TWiV podcast with Dr. Anthony Fauci was very interesting to listen to because it discussed all the knowns and unknowns of the Coronavirus. The podcast started off by discussing the possibilities for the spread of the virus and how masks and six feet distances can actually significantly decrease the spread. Dr. Fauci explained how the droplets spread are respiratory droplets that are spread when someone sneezes or coughs and the distance along with masks would prevent the droplets from entering someone else’s system. Another possible way for the virus to spread is through aerosol in the air, which was the case in Hong Kong. There was a hotel in Hong Kong, a couple years back, where the SARS virus spread throughout the hotel from aerosol in the air. And this spread now is serving as an example off of which the spread of the Coronavirus can be tracked from. A problem in tracking the spread is that there are many asymptomatic and presymptomatic individuals that are spreading the virus unknowingly. After discussing the basics of how the virus spread, the discussion turned to how the spread of the virus can be different in children. There is no sound evidence about whether children can contract the virus, or if they could contract it, then if they can transmit the virus to other children. The idea that Children’s ability to transmit the virus is unknown, lead to a discussion about the possibility of schools opening up in the fall. Although there is a considerable risk of sending children back to school, Dr. Fauci completely supports the reopening of schools because he thinks that the societal backlash is too great to continue online instruction. Also he believes that its different for every state, although all states should practice proper social distancing and wearing masks in schools, some states may be at too much of a risk right now to completely open up schools or may need to take even more precautions. There was a suggested idea of $1 saliva tests being provided to make it easier to determine people that have been infected and its completely affordable that schools can make it mandatory. They continue to discuss the different advances in vaccines and how the focus on the spike protein could help develop a working vaccine that could be quickly provided to all the patients in the US. I thought that this podcast was amazing because not only did I learn a lot about how the virus works and how much effort is going in to vaccines, but i felt more at ease knowing that Dr.Fauci wasn’t afraid to admit that there are many uncertainties we still face but they are working on finding all the answers for our questions.

Anonymous said...

In the podcast "TWiV 641: COVID 19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci", everything about the COVID 19 is talked about, from its transmission to its vaccination. A lot of the issues mentioned by the 2 hosts to Dtr.Fauci were issues that are prevalent in our society today and cause a great deal of nervousness since people are very concerned abouyt these issues. However, Dr.Fauci's response to them helped quite a lot in pushing down the wave of worrisome that was rising. For example, when one one of the hosts asked if there could be a cutoff of viral loads determined by PCR to day that a patient is no longer infectious with the virus and can go home. This issue comes from the concern that many people shed viral RNA for weeks, and the general public does not know if this shedding is harmful to those around them and should be contained or can be disregarded and brought back into society as a healthy functioning human being. Dr.Fauci's response on saying that if the result is of a cycle threshold of 35 or more, the shedding of the viral RNA can be considered as "dead nucleotides". The way he phrased it makes people realize that maybe some of the things they are worried about could actually be essentially nothing like what was found in the above example. However, this podcast also either brings about or confirms more uncertainty about the virus like that obe artucle we read in the past 2 weeks. Dr.Fauci admits that there is still stuff about the virus that even the top scientists working on it, like himself, do not know. For example, when one of the hosts asks him his perspective on the fraction of transmission that pre/asymptomatic, he immediately responds saying that all of his beliefs on it are just guesses, albeit they be educated guesses. He tells them that guesses are fine for now as long as we don't base out efforts on mere guesses, but that brings about the question and worry about the measures that have been taken thus far. Although the general public is fairly certain that every precaution they have taken (whether it be from the government or their own beliefs) stems from some ground facts about the virus that cannot be disputed, one cannot help but wonder if there are stuff we have done that is solely off of someone's guess. An example of this that first came to my mind was when the president told people that they should inject bleach into their bodies in order to get rid of the virus. Obviously, most of the public knew that doing that was insane and stupid as it would harm you more than the corona virus would, but some people actually went along with and injected themselves with bleach. This precaution that those people took stemmed from a guess that had no backing behind it by the president. If the president can so easily do that, who is to say that we haven't been partaking in precautions stemmed by guesses as of thus far. Overall, was very helpful and educational to listen to. Although I do know information about the coronavirus, I realized that I barely have scratched the surface of the issue after listening to this. A lot of the information they talked about was fairly new to me (like when they were talking about how asymptotic transmissions), so I was incredibly intrigued by everything that was going on. I do agree with Dr.Fauci's belief that the vaccine needs to be made and distributed soon so that America can start its road back to some sort of normalcy or past time.

Anonymous said...

The Coronavirus pandemic is one that unfourtunetly is becoming very lenient for some people. People don’t realize that the virus could be living on a doorknob, a keychain, the steering wheel, a water bottle, a plate, anything. People believe that staying 6 feet apart without a mask is okay, when in reality it is not. One of the biggest distributors/passers of the coronavirus is the air, believe it or not. The virus can travel through the air and be passed to you within seconds, even if the time you spend with someone within the 6 feet barrier, set by the government of the USA, is a few seconds. Scientists are doing countless hours of research to try to find a cure, a vaccine, something that can help navigate our lives back to normal. In this podcast, it was explained that the safety precautions that are being given to us by the government create a sense of fear in many people, playing with their mental health.

Anonymous said...

The podcast, “TWiV 641: COVID-19 with Doctor Fauci,” discussed viruses, specifically addressing information about SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. They started by discussing the transmission and testing of the virus, and established that the virus is transmission through droplets, aerosol, and contact. Although it has been widely spread that droplets are the main cause of transmission, it urged listeners to not rule out the possibility of aerosol, and that maintaining six feet is important for droplets, but it is still possible to spread it in other ways. It is also possible for it to stay on many surfaces, but there is no solid information on that. Droplets are the most dominant way of spreading the virus, which emphasizes how important wearing masks are. They expressed how difficult it was to culture a virus because it's from a 37 threshold cycle, and when it is above 35, it becomes very difficult to replicate. It's also a tough situation because of its transmission, since many individuals are asymptomatic and they can spread it to many individuals without even knowing. That makes the topic of going back to school a little bit complicated. Children won’t get sick or show physical symptoms as nearly as much as adults do, but they can still spread the virus through contact and droplets to other family members who may be at higher risk. The individuals speaking in the podcast believed that it isn’t logical or practical to send children back right now. For smaller areas with a fewer number of cases, they may be open up with the proper precautions, but that isn't the best solution for all schools. Those precautions include masks, staying six feet apart, and testing students more often. Since the immunity of COVID-19 after being infected is still unknown, it further complicates the situation because it seems as if no one is safe if they don't practice the proper precautions. The stress to come out with a new vaccine is immense and they expressed that it will most likely come out in the beginning of 2021. The entire pandemic and circumstance of the world has helped the government prepare for a potential situation that is similar to this in the future. Since it was so new and unknown when it happened, there has been a degree of uncertainty when making decisions. Hopefully this won't be the case in the future. Overall, this podcast was very informative and it further reminded me how important wearing a mask and staying six feet from others is, because it truly can save lives.

Ashvin Kohli said...

In the podcast, "TWiV 641: COVID-19" with Dr. Anthony Fauci, showed me how scientists dive deep to solve the problems that viruses create. This ranges from how the virus is transmitted, to possible cures the virus. Dr. Fauci says that they are looking at droplets in peoples saliva, for the main method of transmission. They also mentioned if schools should open or stay closed for the safety of the students, and teachers. He did mention that depending on where you live, your school may or may not open, in new jersey we currently have the best track record as being the state with the lowest amount of cases. But our governor is still taking heavy precaution, as schools may try something called "Hybrid Learning" which is essentially a mix of going to school and staying at home. Another topic was how the Coronavirus would affect those who have already passed trough the disease, some people may be immune and some people may not. Vaccines are in their final stages of being developed as Dr. Fauci says, and this makes a lot of people feel better as the virus will slowly disappear into nothing but a story, and not a life threatening disease, or will it?

Anonymous said...

I liked the podcast that we were given to watch this week. I found it very informative, intriguing and also liked how the had Dr. Fauci for first had information on the current pandemic. During this podcast we learned a lot about the COVID-19 virus such as transmission, testing, and vaccines. From the podcast I learned that the virus is mostly spread by droplets that when released from a person will fall in six feet and that is why we keep a six feet distance from people. It is also speculated that aerosols may be a source of transmission but has not yet been confirmed. In addition another mode of transmission is contact when touching surfaces. The many source of transmission is droplets and that is why masks are important to block droplets from being released. Moreover in the podcast they explain how children can still be infected but their symptoms are usually reduced. However they can still give the virus to other which is a major concern when thinking about opening school across the country. Personally I don’t believe we should open schools it poses as a major health risk. In addition Dr. Fauci talks about how the virus’s death rate is around 1%. He also talks about the incredible swiftness of the team is creating vaccines which are already at stage 3 in clinical trials. All in all I really enjoyed this podcast and would tune in again to watch it.

Wali Qureshi said...

In the podcast about COVID-19 with Dr. Anthony Fauci, I had learned about the different aspects of the virus. Covid spreads through aerosol droplets and has a reduced possibility of spreading if people stand 6 feet apart. Covid can also stay on surfaces and be transmitted through those means. Covid stops replicating after a certain threshold cycle. The virus can be spread by both symptomatic and asymptomatic people. Reintroducing students back to school requires a lot more planning, which could have a ripple effect due to different learning conditions. Due to the various differences in school districts throughout the US, bringing students back to school is different for each district. The virus doesn’t show any indication of it being spread to different organs except for the respiratory system. Herd immunity doesn’t seem to be the most plausible solution to covid. Most people get immunity after surviving the virus. Most vaccines for covid are concerned around the spike protein antibody compared to the other types. Vaccine deployment for covid was drastically accelerated as they prepared the manufacturing sites beforehand in anticipation of a viable vaccine.

Kunal Soin said...

A virus could be transferred by either air or touch. A virus going by air can go until six feet. Thats why social distancing is required to be six feet apart. A virus that travels by touch is complex. Depending on the virus, material of the object, and the weather conditions, a virus can survive up to 15 minutes on a given object. however it does vary a lot depending on the given circumstances. For example, say if its Covid-19, it can last on metal objects to 1 hour but 13 minutes on cardboard. but say if its very cold, then the virus can last much longer. if its hot, the virus would die much sooner. -----------Kunal Soin

Anonymous said...

I found the podcast with Dr.Anthony Fauci, I learned a lot about this new coronavirus. The new coronavirus is very contagious, more than many other viral strains. I learned that the coronavirus spreads very easily, especially in close contact, meaning under 6 feet apart. The virus can infect others when your respiratory droplets comes out. As a result, we wear masks to protect other from our droplets. Dr.Fauci also explained that kids can get symptoms, but they have very low fatality rates. However, he also said teenage children, like me, can spread the virus like adults. ("not meant to scare anybody").I always follow Dr.Fauci, as he is a very great guy and looks out for the American People. I enjoyed this podcast and look forward to tune into more of his podcasts or exclusive interviews.

Anvitha Arjula said...

I thought that the podcast this week was very interesting, Dr. Fauci talked about a lot of things, and I really learned a lot about the coronavirus. This version of the coronavirus is transferred mostly by aerosol droplets that can travel up to 6ft in the air, and this is why staying 6ft apart helps lower the chances of you contracting COVID-19. I also thought that what Dr. Fauci mentioned about herd immunity was very interesting, he said that he thinks that everyone achieving herd immunity might not be possible, because it isn’t clear if people who had COVID-19 are immune to future infections. It’s also been said that reinfection is possible, even though its a milder version of coronavirus. In the podcast it as also discussed whether or not children should be returning to school, and how the answer to that question depends on where you live, and how your location and the seriousness of the cases there will also change the severity of measures taken to protect the students and teachers. All in all I found this podcast very interesting and liked how Dr. Fauci was able to explain everything very nicely and in a way that was easy to understand.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the podcast a lot and thought Dr. Fauci was giving great insight on the Coronavirus. The professors on the podcast and the visitor Dr. Fauci had the option to share the most exact data as they spent significant time in Infectious Diseases, as the Covid seems to be. The podcast addressed numerous parts of COVID-19 including testing, immunizations, transmission and readiness. Different subjects like the significance of wearing veils and returning schools were additionally examined in the webcast. There has been an idea about how youngsters don't get the infection close to as much as grown-ups genuine which might be some what valid yet not an intelligent safeguard to utilize when attempting to arrange opening schools for the following school year. Remembering that Dr, Fauci clarifies the significance of attempting to arrive at a spot where youngsters can go to class since training is significant yet pushing for the most protected conceivable way. This thought anyway might be somewhat obvious there is as yet a likelihood that youngsters could get the infection and can pass it to their relatives and different understudies.